In a strike that marked al-Qaeda's entrance into worldwide notoriety, suicide terrorists detonated vehicle-borne bombs almost simultaneously at two American embassies in Africa.

Though the attacks were on U.S. facilities, only twelve U.S. citizens were killed. Most of the dead were Kenyans, as the bombers in Tanzania were unable to penetrate the embassy's security perimeter.

The attacks marked on trademark al-Qaeda tactic: to conduct multiple, simultaneous attacks at different locations.

The U.S. learned of al-Qaeda's complicity first after the detention, in Pakistan, of Mohamed Sadeek Odeh on the day of the attacks. Odeh identified several major players in the plot.

Possible

Bizarrely, there is a disparity in U.S. government reports regarding how many were killed in Nairobi, and casualty totals for both bombings also omit a man missing and long presumed dead at the Dar Es Salaam bombing. The FBI says 213 died at Nairobi, plus 12 at Tanzania, for a total of 225. Some State Department publications put the number of dead at Nairobi at 291, plus 12 at Tanzania, for a total of 303.